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Views of the News, Dec. 16, 2009

Media coverage of "climategate," and of the Obama approval-rating slump ... and, does George Stephanopoulous' hosting "Good Morning America" signify a shift in focus on hard news? Panelists: Mike McKean, Lee Wilkins, Charles Davis.

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this week's topic links

Climategate and the News Media

FactCheck.org: "Climategate: Hacked e-mails show climate scientists in a bad light but don't change scientific consensus on global warming"

Seth Borenstein, Raphael Satter and Malcolm Ritter, Associated Press: "Science not faked, but not pretty"

Clive Crook, The Financial Times: "Trust the public on climate change"

E. Thomas McClanahan, The Kansas City Star: "Climategate: Who are the 'deniers' now?"

Mark Anslow, Editor's Blog, TheEcologist.org: "Shame on the 'climategate' scientists"

The Obama "Slump"

Pollster.com: "National Job Approval: Pres. Barack Obama"

Peggy Noonan, The Wall Street Journal: "Obama Moves Toward Center Stage"

John Heilemann, New York Magazine: "Obama Lost, Obama Found"

George to GMA

Frazier Moore, The Huffington Post: "George Stephanopoulos Begins 'GMA' Career with Hint to Programs's Hard-News Shift"

Tommy Christopher, Mediaite.com: "Would You Watch 'This Week' with Jake Tapper?"

Sara Libby, True/Slant: "What Middle-Aged White Man Will Replace Stephanopoulos?"

NYT vs. WSJ

David Carr, The New York Times: "Under Murdoch, Tilting Rightward at The Journal"

Michael Calderone, Politico: "WSJ editor swings back at NYT; Keller responds"

B-ballers vs. Cheerleader

David Briggs, Tiger Extra (Columbia Daily Tribune): "Johnson, Hanneman suspended: Tigers assaulted male cheerleader"

Jeffrey Stoffey, Columbia Missourian: "No charges yet in arrest of Missouri women's basketball players"

Measuring Radio Listeners

Stephanie Clifford, The New York Times: "Never Listen to Celine? Radio Meter Begs to Differ"

Top Stories of 2009

Results of Google search on "top stories" 2009

Views of the News, Dec. 9, 2009

Google embarks with newspapers on "The Living Story Project" ... Comcast is poised to take a controlling interest in NBC ... and, was the news of Tiger Woods' indiscretions news to golf journalists? Panelists: Lee Wilkins, Charles Davis, Marty Steffens.

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Views of the News, Dec. 2, 2009

Media coverage of the Obama Afghanistan speech ... the White House dinner gate-crashers ... and Tiger Woods' "transgressions." Panelists: Mike McKean, Lee Wilkins, Charles Davis.

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Media reaction to Obama's Afghanistan speech

The Huffington Post: "Obama Afghanistan Speech: Reactions, Analysis"

Thomas M. Defrank, New York Daily News: "Afghanistan is President Obama's war now, after his West Point speech"

Fox News: "Obama's Afghan Plan Fails to Satisfy Left or Right"

Alexander Burns, Politico: "Win it or end it? Petraeus: 'Tension' in war speech"

The White House "gatecrashers"

Savanah Guthrie, NBC Nightly News: "Guessed list? Party crashers confused about invite"

Neely Tucker and Mary Jordan, The Washington Post: "A new field of inquiry: Salahis' polo cup. Couple's problems didn't start with White House dinner"

Washington Times editorial: "Vindicating White House gate-crashers" (sarcasm)

Tiger Woods and tabloid rumors

Emily Smith, The New York Post: "Rachel Uchitel: The night I met Tiger Woods & my life spun out of control"

The National Enquirer: "World Exclusive: Woman at Center of Tiger Woods Cheating Scandal Exposed!!"

TMZ: "Tiger's Wife Changed Her Story"

Dan Le Batard, The Miami Herald: "When Tiger Woods and scandal collide, truth becomes the victim"

James Poniewozik, Time: "Looking for Reasons to Care About Tiger Woods"

Kahler family murders and local media coverage

Brennan David and T.J. Greaney, Columbia Daily Tribune: "Slain woman was target of online stalker. $10 million bond is set for Kahler."

Sarah Horn, Columbia Missourian: "Kahler Killings: Teachers, friends mourn children lost in triple homicide"

Tram Whitehurst, Columbia Missourian: "Kahler Killings: Criminal psychologists explain triggers for family violence"

Making news un-Google-able?

Clint Boulton, eWeek: "Analysts Scoff at News Corp.-Bing Bid to Ding Google"

Erick Schonfeld, TechCrunch: "Google News Makes a Concession to Whining Publishers: Only First Five Clicks are Free"

Joseph Tartakoff, PaidContent.org: "Huffington to Murdoch: Stop 'Pointing Fingers'"

Eric Pfanner, The New York Times: "Google and News Corp. Do Need Each Other"

Federal Trade Commission: "How Will Journalism Survive the Internet Age?"

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Views of the News, Nov. 18, 2009

Is "crowd-funding" the future of journalism? ... "The Daily Show," Sean Hannity, and the misuse of file footage ... and, "Web scraping" of the accused. Panelists: Lee Wilkins, Charles Davis, Marty Steffens.

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Views of the News, Nov. 11, 2009

Media coverage of the Ft. Hood shootings and the "Islamist extremist" angle ... an overblown sweeps promo on local TV ... and, did the Innocence Project student reporters pay for friendly interviews? Panelists: Mike McKean, Lee Wilkins, Charles Davis.

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This week's topic links

Ft. Hood Shootings: the "Islamist" Connection

Martha Raddatz, Brian Ross, Mary-Rose Abraham and Rehab El-Buri, ABC News: "Senior Official: More Hasan Ties to People Under Investigation by FBI"

Clay Waters, Times Watch: "The Times Continues to Evade Issue of Killer Hasan's Muslim Extremism"

John Nichols, The Nation: "Call Joe Lieberman's Bluff; Have a Real Inquiry"

Brit Media and the Afghan War

Rob Gifford, NPR News: "In U.K., Growing Disenchantment Over Afghan War"

Overblown Sweeps Promo

Stephanie Schaefer, KMIZ-TV: "Board Aims to End YouZeum Struggles"

Did Students Pay Sources for Innocence Interviews?

Georgia Garvey, Chicago Tribune: "Northwestern students paid witnesses, prosecutors allege"

Emma Graves Fitzsimmons, The New York Times: "Prosecutors Say Students Paid Witness to Aid Case"

Supreme Court Justice Sought Prior Restraint

Adam Liptak, The New York Times: "From Justice Kennedy, a Lesson in Journalism"

Views of the News, Nov. 4, 2009

Did the Republican gains in yesterday's elections amount to an Obama loss? ... a prosecutor investigates Chicago's Innocence Project students ... and, is media polarization actually healthy? Panelists: Mike McKean, Lee Wilkins, Charles Davis.

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This week's topic links

Did Obama Lose Last Night?

Dan Balz, The Washington Post: "Gubernatorial contests serve as warning to Democrats: It's not 2008 anymore"

Liz Halloran, NPR: "GOP Victories Offer a Warning to Democrats"

Fox News: "GOP Gains Could Hurt Obama Political Capital, If Not Agenda"

John Dickerson, Slate: "What a Difference a Year Makes: How last night's election results were bad for Obama"

Mark Preston, CNN: "Analysis: Elections not a referendum on Obama"

Gary Langer, ABC News: "'09 Exit Polls: Voters Approve of Obama, Wary of Economy"

Media Matters: "Media in 2001: Off-year elections have little national significance"

Peggy Noonan, The Wall Street Journal: "We're Governed by Callous Children: Americans feel increasingly disheartened, and our leaders don't even notice"

Government Intervention to "Save the News Media?"

Federal Communications Commission: "Steven Waldman Named to Lead Commission Effort on Future of Media in a Changing Technological Landscape"

Leonard Downie, Jr. and Michael Schudson: "The Reconstruction of American Journalism"

Bob Garfield, On the Media: "Take For Granted" (interview with Downie)

Nick Coleman, Minneapolis Star Tribune: "Subsidies? For news? Whoa, Nelly"

Alan Mutter, Reflections of a Newsosaur blog: "Wild guesses won't solve journalism crisis"

Prosecutor Investigates Innocence Project Students

Monica Davey, The New York Times: "Prosecutors Turn Tables on Student Journalists"

The Innocence Project at the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University

Carol Pardun and Bill Cassidy, Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC): "Students Investigate Old Conviction; Prosecutor Investigates Students; AEJMC Urges Subpoena Quash"

Tim McGuire, Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication: "Let's not let Medill Innocence Project be another Hazelwood"

Media Polarization: Who Says It's a Bad Thing?

John Harwood, The New York Times: "If Fox is Partisan, It Is Not Alone"

Views of the News, Oct. 28, 2009

The newspaper business continues to skid ... Hulu and Pandora turn to a subscription-based business model ... and, "the death of privacy." Panelists: Lee Wilkins, Charles Davis, Marty Steffens.

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Views of the News, Oct. 21, 2009

The media's handling of the "Balloon Boy" hoax ... the U.S. Chamber of Commerce gets "punked" by The Yes Men ... and, the New York Times' staff contracts even further. Panelists: Mike McKean, Charles Davis, Rod Gelatt.

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This week's topic links

Balloon Boy

Kate Stanhope, TV Guide: "Sheriff: Balloon Boy Family Made Deal with Media Outlet"

Jonathan Storm, The Philadelphia Inquirer: "Mr. & Mrs. Balloon Boy did it because we will watch"

Mashable.com: "Balloon Boy Parody: I'm In a Box!" (caution: adult language in video)

Eric Deggens, The St. Petersburg Times: "The balloon boy reality: Media is vulnerable to hoaxes"

The Yes Men hoax

Jacques Servin a.k.a. "Andy Bichlbaum", The Yes Men: "Will the Real Chamber of Commerce Please Stand Up?"

Kate Sheppard, Mother Jones: "The Yes Men Punk the Chamber" (Sheppard says she knew in advance the news conference was a hoax)

Anne C. Mulkern and Alex Kaplun, the New York Times: "Fake Reporters Part of Climate Pranksters' 'Theater'"

Dana Milbank, The Washington Post: "The news is broken"

Fitsnews.com blog: "Mainstream Journalists are Stupid"

More layoffs coming at NYT

Richard Perez-Pena, The New York Times: "New York Times Moves to Trim 100 in Newsroom"

Advice from Missouri Honor Medalist Rod Gelatt

Missouri School of Journalism: "Seven to Receive the Prestigious Missouri Honor Medal for Distinguished Service in Journalism"

Alex Altman, Time Magazine: "Q&A: Author Malcolm Gladwell" (Gladwell says young journalists should get a degree in something other than journalism)

Today's Show

Views of the News, Oct. 14, 2009

Controversial "muzzling" as the White House takes aim at Fox News ... California cracks down on paparazzi ... and St. Louis University cancels a David Horowitz appearance. Panelists: Mike McKean, Lee Wilkins, Charles Davis.

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This week's topic links

Obama vs. Fox News Channel

Brian Stelter, The New York Times: "Fox's Volley With Obama Intensifying"

Jesse Lee, The White House Blog: "Reality Check: Trying to Turn a Point of Pride into a Moment of Shame"

Michael Scherer, Time Magazine: "Calling 'Em Out: The White House Takes on the Press"

John Nichols, The Nation: "Whiner-in-Chief"

Arnold vs. the paparrazi

CNN: "Schwarzenegger signs new anti-paparazzi law"

Dionne Searcey, The Wall Street Journal Law Blog: "Will California's New Anti-Paparazzi Law Unleash a Torrent of Law Suits?"

Website of The Paparazzi Reform Initiative, backers of the new law

SLU vs. David Horowitz

Kavita Kumar, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: "St. Louis U. cancels speech by activist David Horowitz"

Dale Singer, St. Louis Beacon: "Did SLU block conservative Horowitz from speaking on campus? Depends on who you ask"

John K. Wilson, Students for Academic Freedom: "Repression at St. Louis University"

Blogger Retraction

Larry Dignan, ZDNet Government: "Retraction: Yahoo and Iran"

ZDNet Editors, ZDNet Government: "Yahoo vigorously denies charges that it turned over user names to Iran"

Robert X. Cringely, The Industry Standard: "The ZDnet/Iran affair: Who's the Yahoo now?"

Dan Nystedt, InfoWorld: "Yahoo may face penalty over jailed Chinese journalist"

Human Rights Watch: "China: Media Summit Participants Should Push for Press Freedom"

Today's Show

Views of the News, Oct. 7, 2009

Fallout from the David Letterman extortion plot and sex scandal ... the FTC's insistence on disclosure among bloggers who are paid endorsers ... and, mid-Missouri media coverage of a high school student's suicide. Panelists: Mike McKean, Lee Wilkins, Charles Davis.

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This week's topic links

David Letterman sex scandal

Bill Carter and Brian Stelter, New York Times: "Letterman Apologizes on the Air to His Wife"

Howard Kurtz, Washington Post: "Letterman's Sorry State"

Richard Huff, New York Daily News: "David Letterman's ratings soar on office sex, extortion scandal"

Barack Obama: celebrity-in-chief?

Jennifer Loven and Julie Pace, Associated Press: "Analysis: Chicago's loss is a blow to Obama, too"

Drew Westen, CNN: "Commentary: Is Obama overexposed?"

Victor Davis Hanso, National Review Online: "Barack Obama, College Administrator: Our commander-in-chief seems to think he's president of the University of America"

Blogger disclosure act

Tim Arango, New York Times: "Soon, Bloggers Must Give Full Disclosure"

Wall Street Journal: "FTC Toughens Endorsement Rules for Celebrities, Bloggers"

Andy Sernovitz, Huffington Post: "FTC to Social Media Marketers and Bloggers: Y'all Play Fair Now!"

Los Angeles Times editorial: "Trusting the blogosphere: Is the FTC's focus on enforcing Internet advertising standards more heavy-handed than with traditional media?"

Denver news site out of business

Joseph Tartakoff, paidContent.org: "A News Startup Fails to Get Traction in Denver"

Seattle PostGlobe: a similar startup by former employees of Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Struggling financially, but still producing news.

Sherry Skalko, Online News Association: "Publish2, My Ballard and Gotham Gazette recognized with inaugural Online Journalism Awards"

Seattle's MyBallard.com

New York's Gotham Gazette

Ethics of covering teen suicide

T.J. Greaney, Columbia Daily Tribune: "A Young Life Lost: Suicide apparent in death of teen"

Joel Walsh, Columbia Missourian: "Police investigate death of Rock Bridge High School student-athlete"

Daniel Paulling and Melissa Schupmann, Columbia Missourian: "Rock Bridge senior Stuart Eiken remembered by friends, teammates, students"

Today's Show

Views of the News, Sept. 30, 2009

This week's coverage of thwarted terrorist attacks, the Roman Polanski arrest, and the "public option" in health care reform. Panelists: Mike McKean, Lee Wilkins, Charles Davis.

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This week's topic links

Terrorist arrests

Dina Temple-Raston, NPR: "Officials: NYC Plot Operational, Not Just Aspirational"

Craig Alan Silverman, Huffington Post-Denver: "Obama Team Stops Another 9/11, Gets Help from Unlikely Source (Najibullah Zazi's Lawyer)"

Roman Polanski arrested

Howard Kurtz, Washington Post: "Roman History"

Robert Marquand, Christian Science Monitor: "Free Roman Polanski? Case shows US-France cultural divide"

CNN: "Filmmakers demand Polanski's release"

Dueling health care polls

NPR: "Senate Panel Rejects Divisive 'Public Option'"

Adam Nagourney and Dalia Sussman, New York Times: "Public Wary of Obama on War and Health"

Scott Rasmussen, Rasmussen Reports: "Health Care Reform: Support for Health Care Plan Hits New Low"

Julie Rovner, NPR: "Poll: Public Says Voice Not Heard in Health Debate"

NYT slow on ACORN story

Clark Hoyt (The Public Editor), New York Times: "Tuning In Too Late"

Lachlan Markay, NewsBusters/Media Research Center: "NYT Tries to Deflect Charges of Bias, Announces 'Opinion Media' Editor"

Which journalists deserve to be shielded?

Zachary Seward, Nieman Journalism Lab: "Shield law: Definition of 'journalist' gets professionalized"

Other items of interest

Robert McFadden, New York Times: "William Safire, Political Columnist and Oracle of Language, Dies at 79"

Edith Honan, Reuters: "Dan Rather loses $70 million lawsuit against CBS"

Views of the News, Sept. 23, 2009

Do the media place too much focus on privileged, beautiful people? ... France proposes a "warning label" on digitally-altered photos ... and, the FCC weighs in on whether ISPs can charge more for, or limit access to, certain online content. Panelists: Mike McKean, Lee Wilkins, Charles Davis.

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This week's topic links

Is one death more newsworthy than another?

Kristen Chick, Christian Science Monitor: "Media frenzy over Yale murder draws criticism"

Stacey Woelfel, RTNDA Communicator: "Chairman's Blog: It's Only a Local Murder - Why All the Coverage?"

"Censoring" reader comments online

Jim Robertson, Columbia Daily Tribune: "When are comments inappropriate?"

Jim Robertson, Columbia Daily Tribune: "Some things to think about"

Jim Robertson, Columbia Daily Tribune: "Following up on accidental death commentary"

'Net neutrality

Ryan Singel, Wired: "FCC Backs Net Neutrality -- And Then Some"

Art Brodsky, Huffington Post: "It's Day One For the Open Internet -- The Games Have Begun"

Amy Schatz and Fawn Johnson, Wall Street Journal: "Internet Providers Push Back Against 'Net Neutrality' Proposal"

Obama and the newspaper crisis

Dave Murray, Toledo Blade: "Newspaper journalism gets words of praise; Print media's role vital, Obama says"

Michael O'Brien: The Hill: "Obama open to newspaper bailout bill"

Jack Shafer, Slate: "Saving Newspapers From Their Saviors: President Obama! Stiff-arm that "save the newspapers" legislation!"

Warning label for doctored photos

Reuters: "France mulls 'health warning' for fashion photos"

Views of the News, Sept. 16, 2009

A new study takes the measure of public skepticism about the media ... have the mainstream media under-covered the ACORN sting? ... and, will people consume news via eReaders? Panelists: Mike McKean, Marty Steffens, Rod Gelatt.

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Catch us on CAT public access television

The CAT schedule page

This week's topic links

More bad news for journalism cred

Pew Research Center for People & the Press: "Press Accuracy Rating Hits Two Decade Low"

ACORN sting

BigGovernment.com (Conservative blog that's hosting the ACORN sting videos)

Fox News Channel: "Fourth Videotape Reveals ACORN Advising 'Pimp,' 'Prostitute' in California"

Andrew Taylor, Associated Press: "Senate votes to deny funds to ACORN"

The Daily Show with John Stewart, Comedy Central: "The Audacity of Hos"

Controversial media tweets

David Bauder, Associated Press: "President's opinion of Kanye West sparks debate"

TMZ: "Obama Calls Kanye a 'Jackass' -- The Audio"

Holly Bailey, The Gaggle blog, Newsweek: "TMZ Posts Audio of Obama Calling Kanye a 'Jackass.' But How Did It Get the Tape?"

Calvin Woodward and Eileen Sullivan, Associated Press: "River drill shakes up DC on 9/11 anniversary"

Jamie McIntyre, Military.com: "The Rush to be Wrong"

eReaders & paying for news

Miguel Helft, The New York Times: "Google Releases News-Reading Service"

Reuters: "Wall Street Journal to charge mobile readers"

Reynolds Journalism Institute's Digital Publishing Alliance page

Today's Show

Views of the News, Sept. 9, 2009

A book about the controversial Muslim cartoons fails to include the cartoons themselves ... the family of a mortally wounded Marine objects to published pictures of his last moments ... and, a campaign finance case reaches the Supreme Court. Panelists: Mike McKean, Lee Wilkins, Charles Davis.

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This week's topic links

No cartoons in book about cartoons

John Christoffersen, The Associated Press: "Yale criticized for nixing Muslim cartoons in book"

Wikipedia: "Jyllands-Posten Muhammed cartoons controversy"

SCOTUS hears campaign finance case

Nina Totenberg, National Public Radio: "High Court Weighs Upending Campaign-Money Rules"

Mortally wounded Marine photo

Alfred de Montesquiou and Julie Jacobson, The Associated Press: "Calm -- then sudden death in Afghan war"

David Bauder, The Associated Press: "AP picture of wounded Marine sparks debate"

Bob Steele, Poynter Institute: "AP Made Right Call in Publishing Photo, Story of Fallen Marine"

Raid frees captured journalist

Eric Schmitt, The New York TImes: "Seized Times Reporter Is Freed in Afghan Raid That Kills Aide"

"Fan can" flap revisited and extended

Janese Heavin, Columbia Tribune: "Barware a different side of can flap"

Janese Heavin, Columbia Tribune: "MU launches drink-control effort"

Janese Heavin, Columbia Tribune: "Campus group acts as sober chauffeurs"

Today's Show

Views of the News, Sept. 2, 2009

A lack of live coverage of wildfires in L.A.? ... media pundits and White House press staff butt heads over the issue of health care ... and, a ratings system determines which journalists are embedded with U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Panelists: Mike McKean, Lee Wilkins, Charles Davis.

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This week's topic links

CA Wildfire

Mary McNamara, Los Angeles Times: "As hills near L.A. burned, TV was -- where?"

Steven Mikulan, LA Weekly: "Los Angeles' TV Station Fire"

Swine Flu at MU

Christine Fillmore, KOMU-TV: "MU Readies for H1N1"

Michael Sewall, Columbia Missourian: "Cases of presumed H1N1 virus hit MU"

Shifting Blame on Health Care

Howard Kurtz, Washington Post: "Et Tu, Lefty? Allies Critical of President"

Jake Tapper, ABC News: "President's Political Arm Follows His Lead in Drumming Up Support for Health Care Reform Push -- by Criticizing Media"

Pentagon Cancels Reporter Rating Contract

Kevin Baron, Stars and Stripes: "Military terminates Rendon contract" and read their original reporting on story from links within this article.

Black and Gold Beer Cans

T.J. Greaney, Columbia Daily Tribune: "MU chancellor asks Anheuser-Busch to stop 'Team Pride' program"

Views of the News, Aug. 26, 2009

Remembering "the liberal lion," Ted Kennedy, and "60 Minutes" creator Don Hewitt ... and, a look at the Glenn Beck sponsor boycott. Panelists: Mike McKean, Lee Wilkins, Charles Davis.

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This week's topic links

Ted Kennedy Dies

CNN.com: "Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy dies after cancer battle"

John M. Broder, The New York Times: "Edward Kennedy, Senate Stalwart, Dies"

Huffington Post: Ted Kennedy Special Section

FoxNews.com: "Ted Kennedy News and Video"

Don Hewitt/60 Minutes

CBS News: "TV News Giant Don Hewitt Dies at 86"

Jacques Steinberg, The New York Times: "Don Hewitt, Creator of '60 Minutes,' Dies at 86"

Glenn Beck Boycott

ColorofChange.org: "16 New Companies Pledge Not to Run Ads on Glenn Beck; Total Reaches Three Dozen"

Jim Cramer says News Corp. and Beck will not suffer in the long run.

Robert Seidman, TV by the Numbers: "Cable News Ratings for Monday, August 24, 2009: Beck is Back"

Letter from a listener

Jan Chen sent this via email after hearing our discussion of health care coverage:

As one listens to the Republican anger over health care reform, one can imagine an anti-government protester cheerfully paying premiums on insurance policies that cancel you for making a claim, or happily sauntering out of an emergency room that denied them treatment because of a coverage problem. One can imagine a town-hall sign-waver enthusiastically forking over most of their pay to bill collectors after suffering a catastrophic injury, thinking, “Wow, the free market system is great.”

No, Republicans are just as affected by health care inequities as anyone else, especially the working class Republicans who show up armed and dangerous at America’s town hall meetings on the topic. The accounts of denial of health care that were a part of last year’s campaign? It wasn’t only Democrats who talked of losing loved ones due to the shenanigans of insurance companies. Republicans, too, cried real tears at the injustices.

So what’s this all about then? The down-with-government shrieking at the town hall meetings, the gun-toting visits to Obama events, the insistence that Obama’s health care reform is inspired by the devil himself? It’s about shock. The shock of no longer being in power. Every President since JFK has been either conservative or a Southerner. Every single one. These folks have had it their way for decades. And they don’t want to share.
You have my permission to publish this letter.

Jan Chen

Today's Show

Views of the News, Aug. 19, 2009

Remembering the self-styled "Prince of Darkness," Robert Novak ... media coverage of health care initiative protests ... and, did a state agency cover up information about bacteria in the Lake of the Ozarks? Panelists: Mike McKean, Charles Davis, Lee Wilkins.

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60 Minutes producer Don Hewitt dies

We just received word as we were preparing to tape this week's Views of the News that legendary 60 Minutes creator and producer Don Hewitt had died. We'll discuss his impact on TV journalism next week.

Today's show links

Bob Novak

Lynn Sweet, Chicago Sun-Times: "Sun-TImes Columnist Robert Novak dead at 78"

Chicago Sun-Times Editorial Board: "Robert Novak: Innovator's life marked by passion"

Eleanor Clift, Newsweek: "The Ultimate Insider Journalist"

Howard Kurtz, The Washington Post: "The Heart of the 'Prince of Darkness'"

David Broder, The Washington Post: "The Company that Bob Novak Kept"

Creators Syndicate: "Creators Syndicate's columnists pay tribute to Robert Novak" (kind words from --mostly--conservative writers)

Jack Shafer, Slate: "Robert D. Novak (1931-2009): Darkness claims the prince of darkness"

Murray Wass, Village Voice: "Jack Anderson: An Appreciation" (2005 article about a Novak contemporary and a critique of "access journalism")

Robert Novak, Washington Post: "Mission to Niger" (the column that launched "Plamegate")

Robert Novak, Chicago Sun-Times: "Novak on Novak: Life after his cancer diagnosis" (one of his last columns from Sept.7, 2008)

Health care "fear" and "hate"

Charles Davis, Columbia Daily Tribune: "Unhealthy silence: Best way to beat hatemongering is to report it"

Janese Heavin, Columbia Daily Tribune: "Health debate goes awry: 'War strategies' muddle issues" (Views host Mike McKean considers this a one-sided bit of lazy reporting, but the reporter answers critics at the end of the comments section.)

No sunshine violation

Kim McGuire, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: "DNR is cleared in E. coli incident"

Views of the News, Aug. 12, 2009

How willing are people to pay for the news ... and, what effect has the recession had on news-gathering organizations? Panelists: Lee Wilkins, Charles Davis, Esther Thorsen.

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Today's Topic Links

The Associated Press: Kansas City Star orders furloughs, buyouts

Meg James, Los Angeles Times: TV networks cut 'upfront' prices for ad time but still sell less

Charles Warner, The Huffington Post: Media Health Care Coverage Is Unhealthy

U.S. Food and Drug Administration: Keeping Watch Over Direct-to-Consumer Ads

Todd Finkelmeyer, The Capital Times: Students flock to journalism school despite tanking news industry

AppScout.com: College E-TExtbook Service Hits the iPhone

Views of the News, Aug. 5, 2009

Coverage of the Obama "beer summit" and the Clinton trip to North Korea. Panelists: Rod Gelatt, Lynda Kraxberger, Karen Mitchell, Jim McMillan.

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Views of the News, July 29, 2009

Sarah Palin's farewell address ... the effect of free online viewing on TV news ... and, Paul Pepper moves to radio. Panelists: Lee Wilkins, Charles Davis, Marty Steffens.

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This week's video

Today's Topic Links

Robert Blanco, USA TODAY: Walter Cronkite's passing: A death in everyone's family

Robert MacMillan, Reuters: U.S. business magazines face a shakeout

Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor, Reuters: UPDATE 1-U.S. schedules trials of new swine flu vaccine

Michael Kinsley, Slate: Who's Better Informed, Newspaper Readers or Web Surfers?

Views of the News, July 22, 2009

A remembrance of Walter Cronkite, and a look at how his legacy has fared ... the financial health of the magazine industry ... and, who is better informed: a consumer only of the local newspaper, or only of online news? Panelists: Lee Wilkins, Charles Davis, Amanda Hinnant.

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This week's topic links

Selling 'salons' stings Washington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/02/washington-post-selling-l_n_224658.html

New York Times freelance photos are fake: http://www.pdnpulse.com/2009/07/new-york-times-magazine-withdraws-possibly-altered-photo-essay.html

Forkin's Project Benefits More Than Cause: http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/2009/jul/12/sole-sisters/

New York Times Photos

Views of the News, July 15, 2009

Controversy over the Washington Post's "salons" ... the ethics of Photoshopping news images ... and, do lobbyists pay for news coverage? Panelists: Lee Wilkins, Marty Steffens, Rod Gelatt, Byron Scott.

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This Week's Video July 15, 2009

This week's show video

Views of the News, July 8, 2009

Coverage of the Michael Jackson memorial, the Billy Mays 911 call, and Sarah Palin's resignation ... and, a "Pepper and Friends" protest. Panelists: Mike McKean, Lee Wilkins, Rod Gelatt.

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This week's topic links

David Hinckley, New York Daily News: "Media just responding to Michael Jackson fans' demands with Staples Center memorial coverage"

T.J. Greaney, Columbia Daily Tribune: "Families' pain needn't be broadcast"

Shai Oster and Gordon Fairclough, The Wall Street Journal: "Deadly Ethnic Riots Pose Fresh Crisis for Beijing"

Jane Macartney, The Times of London: "China takes control of news agenda after Uighurs riot in Urumqi"

Al-Jazeera English: "Uighur exiles deny China riot claim"

Jad Mouawad, The New York Times: "Newspaper Apologizes for Seeming to Sell Access"

Michael Calderone, Politico: "Weymouth: WaPo launches internal review"

James Rainey, The Los Angeles TImes: "Journalism 'salons' needn't be hair-raising"

Todd S. Purdum, Vanity Fair: "It Came from Wasilla"

Peter Kafka, All Things Digital Blog: "Sarah Palin Is a Hit for Vanity Fair. But She's No Jessica Simpson--Or Miley Cyrus!"

Eric Boehlert, Media Matters for America: "Palin, the press, and her "no mas" moment"

Drew Griffin and Kathleen Johnston, CNN.com: "Palin: 'I am not a quitter; i am a fighter'"

Ed Bark, Uncle Barky's blog: "Sarah Palin and CNN? Far-fetched maybe, but betcha someone's thought about it"

Felix Gillette, The New York Observer: "Palin to Punditry? Probably Not"

Jonathon Braden, Columbia Daily Tribune: "Show of Support: Protesters line up outside TV station"

Pepper protest video shot by the Tribune's Gerik Parmele:



Maureen McCollum, KBIA News: "Fans Try to Save 'Pepper and Friends'"

Emily Ponder, Columbia Missourian: "'Pepper and Friends' supporters gather to protest the show's cancellation"

Views of the News, July 1, 2009

A look at the week's coverage of the Mark Sanford affair, the Al Franken court battle for a Senate seat, and Michael Jackson's death. Panelists: Lee Wilkins, Rod Gelatt, Marty Steffens.

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